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Comedian George Carlin passed away Sunday evening due to apparent heart trouble, according to his publicist. The stand-up comic was 71-years-old. According to his publicist Jeff Abraham, Carlin went to St. John's Health Center in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon complaining of chest pain. He was later pronounced dead at 5:55pm.
George Carlin's legendary career featured many moments of historic importance in the world of comedy. He hosted the very first episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975. His classic comedy routine “The Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television” not only serves as one of the funniest pieces of comedy in the 20th century, but it also figured prominently in a 1974 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the justices found 5-4 that the FCC has the right to regulate content on public television.
Carlin has performed on 14 HBO specials beginning in 1977, the most recent being “It's Bad For Ya” which originally aired on March 1 of this year. On a Comedy Central special, he was named the second greatest stand-up comedian of all-time, behind only Richard Pryor. In 2001, Carlin received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Comedy Awards, Four days before his death, it was announced that Carlin was to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Carlin's career began in the late 1950s after being discharged from the United States Air Force. He began as a disc jockey in Texas and started a comedy team with Jack Burns. In the 1960s, Carlin made frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. From there he gained a reputation in stand-up comedy for his insightful and political humor that encouraged audiences to question and challenge authority.
Newer generations may have discovered Carlin as Rufus, the mentor two the time-traveling musicians in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure or as Mr. Conductor on PBS' Shining Time Station. Carlin's most recent roles include doing voiceover work for the animated films Cars and Happily N'Ever After.
Carlin was married in 1961 to Brenda Hosbrook, who passed away in 1997. They had one child, a daughter named Kelly.
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